old newbie r/c plane question

[steve y]

I hope you can give me some help, back in the late 50's early 60's I was a keen aeroplane builder making many Keilkraft balsa models powered by rubber bands which littered my bedroom, much to mum's annoyance. anyhow I am shortly retiring and want to take up building balsa planes again but would like to stretch my skills by going for electric powered radio controlled models. I have no experience in the buying of the required equipment and was wondering if it is possible to buy a kit with everything in one box so I can just build and fly something that is matched rather than take a guess at requirements and get it hopelessly wrong
thanks
Steve

[Stig]

steve y said:

I hope you can give me some help, back in the late 50's early 60's I was a keen aeroplane builder making many Keilkraft balsa models powered by rubber bands which littered my bedroom, much to mum's annoyance. anyhow I am shortly retiring and want to take up building balsa planes again but would like to stretch my skills by going for electric powered radio controlled models. I have no experience in the buying of the required equipment and was wondering if it is possible to buy a kit with everything in one box so I can just build and fly something that is matched rather than take a guess at requirements and get it hopelessly wrong
thanks
Steve

Steve - have you any experience flying r/c planes?

If not (or you're a bit rusty), then best bet is to get yourself along to a model shop and get them to set you up with an electric powered trainer. A fair number of kits these days are ARTF (Almost Ready To Fly) so at least when you (inevitably) crash, you don't watch weeks/months of work end up in a binbag.

As for balsa kits, they'll almost certainly result in a heavier plane. No problem in principle, but will therefore require bigger motors/heavier battery drain - hence the increasing numbers of 'foamies' (alot of which are excellent).

Best bet may be to get yourself an R/C foamie trainer (Parkzone Decathlon for example) then buy a balsa kit to build alongside it. When the kits ready, hopefully so will your flying. A decent R/C sim for the PC will save way more than it costs in crashes.

There's so much from, it's hard to know where to start. A decent local hobby shop or flying club would be a safe bet though.

Good luck!

PS. Beware - it gets expensive Just finished a Super Skybolt which runs a 60 sized electric motor and 2 x 2200Mah batteries. About £450 to build and that's without the transmitter!

Edited by Stig on Thursday 21st March 14:56

[steve y]

Thank you Stig, yes rusty would be a good assessment and your advise is most valued, I will see what I can find, I have looked on line but of course it is very risky buying when you are not 100% sure of what you are doing. I will near Southampton so I will look to see if I can find a model shop nearby. I shall do as you suggest and buy one to get experience of r/c while I reacquaint my self with the smell of dope! and I am extremely envious of your marvellous plane! something to aspire to
thanks
Steve

[Stig]

steve y said:

Thank you Stig, yes rusty would be a good assessment and your advise is most valued, I will see what I can find, I have looked on line but of course it is very risky buying when you are not 100% sure of what you are doing. I will near Southampton so I will look to see if I can find a model shop nearby. I shall do as you suggest and buy one to get experience of r/c while I reacquaint my self with the smell of dope! and I am extremely envious of your marvellous plane! something to aspire to
thanks
Steve

You're most welcome. If it helps - that particular plane took 15 years to build and only then because a good friend of mine stepped in to complete it

Things are MUCH easier these days. You can be in a shop then up and flying in an hour or two. I highly recommend Parkzone to get started. They do (RTF - Ready To Fly) kits that include a simple 3 channel transmitter. Great to get back into the hobby with and can take the odd bump (or worse) without too much bother. I flew my Corsair straight into the ground after a mis judged low altitude roll. A soak in a warm bucket of water (the foam has a 'memory' and a warm soak makes it return mostly to its original shape) and a bt of Gorilla glue later, reinstall electrics and it's flow good as new ever since! With a balsa model, it would have been a hell of a lot more work to re-piece the splintered pieces back together.

The other thing you'll be amazed with are the flight times. I can get 20 minutes easily from my Parkzone Warbirds - usually more. Your concentration tends to go before the ESC starts bleeping at you (yes, you get some warning!).

As I said,m a decent shop will best advise. It's in their interest as they know you'll be back - frequently Nothing wrong with getting some good advice and shopping online for the recommendations though - but perhaps a little disingenuous...

PS. Dope VERY rarely used nowadays! You'll have a plethora of modern coatings to choose from which are much easier to apply. Self adhesive and shrink with a bit of heat from a heatgun or hairdryer! I only have two balsa models - the Skybolt (above) and a Black Horse Super Air (converted from IC to electric). The thing is, modern foamies are just so convenient! No mess, no fuss, just get out there and fly. That said, building kits is extremely rewarding - but probably best left for those models that are destined to become shelf queens - until you've mastered the sticks that is

Edited by Stig on Thursday 21st March 16:34

[steve y]

Many thanks to Stig for his guidance and I have taken the plunge and ordered an Axion Skywalker from Modelmaniacs. anybody flown one? what is it like to fly? waiting for the postman to deliver. I did ask if they sold it with optional skids so I can land in the snow
Steve

[fflyingdog]

Just take the gear off and hand launch,you wont damage it landing on snow or grass.Landing speed will be very low,high winger so lots of lift and not easy to stall.

[steve y]

thanks fffffdog, I will bear that in mind although one question and again please excuse a rank newbie on this but if you hand launch how do you work the r/c unit? unless you are an octopuss I can't see how this works unless I have to drag "management" to the park to lend a hand!
Steve

[fflyingdog]

In to wind ,power on(probably wont need full throttle) little bit of up elevator trim, launch straight and level ,they will fly themselves (to a degree). Nice smooth inputs,get some height,smooth turns .Insurance is a good idea, BMFA the place to look or a local club.The hardest thing with flying a r/c model is the landings they should ideally equal the amount of take offs.

[steve y]

fflyingdog said:

In to wind ,power on(probably wont need full throttle) little bit of up elevator trim, launch straight and level ,they will fly themselves (to a degree). Nice smooth inputs,get some height,smooth turns .Insurance is a good idea, BMFA the place to look or a local club.The hardest thing with flying a r/c model is the landings they should ideally equal the amount of take offs.

I will advise you of progress, when the bloody postman gets here!

[fflyingdog]

Has the postman turned up yet??